Happy Holidays

[polymods]

✖ THE MALL

Ⅰ. THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
Boy, wasn’t November exciting? How about those Black Friday deals, huh? Hope you’ve had fun camping out in furniture stores! You can of course continue to bunk there, but the High Temple is also open to all Travelers again this month if you’d rather sleep there. Don’t forget to stock up on items that could fit inside your Traveler bag - this is the perfect time to get that fancy moisturizer you’ve been missing, some books, or maybe a copy of the hot new video game Bonestorm!

As December rolls in, you’ll notice that there’s even MORE holiday cheer to be found! Pressing in on all sides of you! Suffocating you! Or maybe you’re one of those people who just lives for carols and huge plastic evergreens decked out in tinsel and lights, in which case you’re going to be thrilled!

There are indeed plenty of those aforementioned trees throughout the mall, alongside wire and light reindeer, glowing stars, and oversized novelty gift boxes. If you have keen eyes you’ll notice that hidden throughout the mall are dozens of small, creepy elves with dead vacant eyes. They don’t do anything. They just… watch.

Who on earth could they be reporting to?

---

Ⅱ. HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU’RE SLEEPING
At the center of the mall concourse there is now a miniature village set up, themed entirely in ice and snow and candy. At the center of this plastic paradise is a lavishly decorated chair, and in front of it a camera. At times marked clearly on a schedule at the village gate you can wait in line behind a red velvet rope for your turn to see him.

Who? Well. That depends.

In many worlds, there is a benevolent figure who appears in December, bearing gifts for all the good children. Santa is the most likely person you’ll find sitting on that big chair, ho-ho-hoing and looking as kind and jolly as any creature possibly could.

Maybe you’re from somewhere without a Santa Claus, but with some other equivalent. In that case, you might see what you’re familiar with instead!

Regardless of his exact form, the figure who beckons you to sit beside him has only one concern: have you been nice?

Niceness is subjective, but if you’ve managed it you will be rewarded. With a twinkle in his eye, the Non-Denominational Mall Figure will reach into his magic bag and pull out a gift, JUST for you! What could it be?!

Oh, and don’t forget to smile for the photo! You may pick it up in half an hour once it is developed.

But if you’ve been naughty, or if you sneak over to that chair during the OFF hours? In that case there will be a cracking noise and the sudden overwhelming scent of rank goat.

“Better luck next year,” the Non-Denominational Mall Figure says sadly, his eyes trained on something over your shoulder. Turn your head and you’ll see that your naughtiness has attracted another holiday staple: Krampus.

Yes, this hairy, horned devil carries chains and bitch rods, the latter of which he uses to whip the everloving shit out of you if he catches you. You’ll have to outrun him long enough that he gets bored, or find some other way to distract him or pay him off. Maybe there’s a German market set up in the mall somewhere where you could get Krampus to do a Smorgasvein with you?

Notes:
1. This month if your character has been nice, they may receive ONE special item! They may only receive this gift once - multiple attempts to see the Non-Denominational Mall Figure will result in Krampus appearing instead.

The special item you may pick for your character can be one of the following:

- one animal companion. This animal can travel with your character from island to island from now on. The only stipulation is that it must be able to fit comfortably on the ferryboat. If your animal is too large, your character can instead get a mini version!

- one carriable item from your character’s homeland. In the case of weapons, this must be something that is not game breaking in terms of power level. (ie: yes, you can get a gun, no you can’t get a gun that explodes the sun.)

- a collection of holiday candies, all of which have magical healing properties.

2. You determine if your character’s actions put them on the Naughty or Nice list

---

Ⅲ. WINTER WONDERLAND
As you wander through the mall you will notice that amongst all the holiday decorations a large area on the first floor that was closed last month is now lit up and has a welcome sign standing outside. Whatever could it be?

Perhaps a bigger and better Orange Julius?

No silly! It's an indoor ice skating rink. And as if that isn't cool enough - get it? Cool? - it would seem that for the whole month skate rentals are free. So go on, slap on a pair of skates and take a whirl around the ice rink! Show everyone your fancy moves or just try not to fall on your ass.

Don't feel like skating? That's okay, there are dorky performances happening at noon and 5pm where a group of people dressed up as holiday creatures will skate around in formation and do tricks.

If you’re more mature, at 8pm there's a live jazz band that will play music for the skaters.

There’s plenty of beverages and foods to be sampled from the holiday kiosks that have popped up close to the rink.

Notes:
1. This is a public ice rink so you will have to share space with people, so if you plan on throwing out a triple lutz or whatever then you might want to make sure you don't hit or slice into anyone with your skates.

---

Ⅳ. ALL I WANT IS YOU
Cheerful generic holiday music fills the hall as the Christmas celebration hits full swing with a slightly panicked glee. The same rotation of a dozen different carols cycles through, one after the other, hour after hour. There are only a few refuges from the mind numbing music through the mall - that one New Age import shop that hasn’t changed its world music CD in a decade, and Spicy Subject which only plays pop punk covers of carols. Even the bathrooms aren’t safe from that rise and fall of notes that let you know a certain diva is going to tell you that you’re all she wants for Christmas.

Just as the hundredth iteration of the song is about to drive you mad, there’s a tremendous crash. A twenty foot tall Christmas tree that had once been suspended in the middle of the food court has crushed the Pizza Corner and taken out the power source for half the Mall’s sound system in one go. A caped figure escapes along the rafters that once supported the tree in a cloud of heavy fragrance. He pauses only once to bow as banner unfurls. Crude letters have been painted over a previous black Friday announcement: You have been warned: The Phantom!

The crowd begins to murmur and huddle in groups, and if you get nosy there are plenty of rumors. A teen from one of the ear piercing boutiques mentions a ghost story about a Luxuriate employee who got in a terrible accident while mixing bath bombs on site that rendered him permanently aromatic and with a permanent splitting headache that would have killed a lesser person. An older man from the Hotdog Hut pipes up that he disappeared into the labyrinth of hidden hallways that allow employees to navigate the mall for restocking and avoiding the overly aggressive salespeople. Every year the Phantom emerges in an attempt to banish the sky high notes of that ever popular Christmas carol, and every year the people who run the mall put it back in rotation.

Even after the incident with the choir.

A mother with two small children who are more puffy coat than person hushes the hotdog seller. It’s all nonsense of course. Some kind of interactive theater to drive up sales before the holidays. The looks that pass between the other employees, and the signs that the poor twenty-something postgrad working at Pizza Corner might have been crushed say otherwise.

So does the pungent waft of multifloral scent that starts to stalk you through the mall. Apparently, someone’s formed a crush, or are you giving him a terrible headache? What is it about you that you do better than anyone that might be appreciated by this deeply eccentric murder? Or what makes you the most annoying? Either way, it might be good to keep your hand at the level of your eyes because you’re about to be whisked away to the depths of the Mall into the Phantom’s lair.

Notes:
1. The Phantom is now more archetype than human. Killing him will probably not solve the issue, but it will make you smell like you’ve been eating bath bombs and drinking essential oils until New Year. Which could be fun.

2. Alternatively, if you agree with him about the music, you can always agree to team up to take out the rest of the sound system.

3. The Phantom has an excellent tenor voice. Just, you know, in case you were wondering.

Come on Jessica, come on Tori! Let's go to the mall, you won't be sorry!

Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

Comments

loki odinson | mcu

[dothelokimotion]

( i. he sees you when you're sleeping )

[ midgardian traditions were so strange. and yes, loki has been out of touch but why did it involve strangely dressed old men and lavish trees? when he celebrated yule, none of these hallmarks were present. ah well. at least somehow, loki has established himself as better (with his scrywatch changing colour) and received his knives.

which he is now currently testing on snowmen, decapitating them with one smooth motion and magically teleporting the blades back into his hands with a satisfied grin. magic is all well and good, but nothing beats a sharp edge. ]

Ah, much better.

( ii. winter wonderland )

[ while he didn't understand the appeal of skating over frozen water, being a shapeshifter, loki was utterly fascinated by the design of ice skates. instead of wearing them and trying them out on the rink, he's been turning them over in his hands, eyeing every bit of detail ]

What a fascinating piece of design. I wonder how efficiently you can cut a person down with something like this.

[ it's possible he's missed the point completely. ]

( iii. baby it's cold outside )

[ it's not like jotunheim.

it's cold and dark. the wild cuts through bone and flesh with its chill. yet, the area was lit up with lights and festive cheer. happy people, going about their day. warmth held in their hearts. it was not like jotunheim.

and yet, for some reason, loki can't find himself to linger in these warmer areas. he trudges away from the inhabited spaces, looking out into the white expanse. cold and dark. for a brief moment, he tries to let his guise drop, lets the blue curl up his skin. but it stutters, fading out and vanishing back into his usual skin tone.

he looks at his hand contemplatively before crossing his arms and looking out moodily into the emptiness. ]

No monsters here . . .

( iv. wildcard )

[ got a prompt in mind? please hit me up @ timmtams or pm this journal! ]

i. he sees you when you're sleeping

[gravity_grrl]

[Loki's little knife practice is about to get interrupted by the sound of a sarcastic snort, should he turn he'll see a petite girl in a leather jacket with purple eyes watching him decapitate snowmen as she smokes a cigarette.]

Geeeeeeez what did Frosty ever do you to?

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki looks at her blankly. ]

Who is Frosty?

[gravity_grrl]

Frosty the snowman, didn't you ever see that shit when you were little?

[dothelokimotion]

[ dryly. ]

It seems I was deprived of that . . . experience.

[gravity_grrl]

Lucky you.

[She says with a smile and hops down off the table she was sitting on.]

It was a shitty clay animated movie that played 500 billion times on TV every Christmas.

i

[unkindled_madness]

[Sephiroth can, of course, appreciate the return of a good bladed weapon, though it isn't the reason for his current good mood. He isn't smiling, of course, but he looks sort of... smug?]

I take it the Ancient saw fit to return you something as well.

[dothelokimotion]

[ the ancient? is that what they're calling him? ]

Yes. My knives. It is nice to have them back in my hands.

[unkindled_madness]

[Look, Sephiroth doesn't know he got them from Santa. He's making an assumption.]

I know the feeling.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki glances at the sword with a smirk. ]

I can see that.

[unkindled_madness]

It isn't the only thing.

[It's silly, isn't it? To be eager to show off. But he's envied Loki his magic, and now...

It still takes some concentration, it isn't as smooth as he'd like, but he's able to conjure a small fireball in his free hand and hurl it at another of the decorative snowmen.]

II

[helpdesk_hero]

[If he thinks the point of ice skates is fighting, he's missing the point by so much that the point is clearly on another island, if not another planet. David, who had been standing at the edge of the rink watching people for a while (and definitely ignoring Loki's presence), almost sputtered in shock at Loki's statement.

There was literally a horrified look on his face as he looked over toward the rental booth where Loki was apparently wearing skates on his hands. What. The actual. Hell?]

They go on your feet, and they aren't for hurting people. They're for sport.

[He gestured to the people gliding along over the ice. Had Loki just not noticed?]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki glances at the ice-skaters coolly before returning to the skates. ]

Well, they don't need to be for one thing only. What a spectacular lack of creativity.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Seriously? David fully turns to regard the Asgardian and frowned at him.]

There's skating. Figure skating. Ice dancing. Speed skating. Hockey. There are a lot of sports we use skates for. We don't use them for hurting people. They're... They're toys.

[And David was, perhaps, more offended than he should be over this. Which absolutely had to do with the fact that he believed heavily in the creativity that could be expressed through those things.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ with a hum. ]

How many people get injured over these toys, I wonder.

[helpdesk_hero]

In the county I'm from? Roughly 50,000 a year. Though the vast majority of those are sprains, concussions, and other fall related injuries. Lacerations are rarer.

[Yes, David absolutely had done that research and knew the numbers. Listen, he was really invested in the ice when he was younger.]

There are also some injuries and the like that derive from people skating outside of rinks in dangerous conditions, but that's something else.

[neverwither]

( Spying the familiar figure on his lonesome, Chloe drifts on over. Perhaps he's looking to be by himself and if that's the case, she'll take her leave. Perhaps all the holiday cheer isn't so embraced by some but they'd rather not be left out in the cold all alone. )

Careful. You might tempt the Ancient. It is the season of giving, after all.

( She's joking. Mostly. )

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki replies, bemused. ]

I suppose I shouldn't give them any ideas.

[neverwither]

Sorry, it was a poor attempt at humour. ( She'll get there one day. Maybe. )

Are you alright, Loki?

[dothelokimotion]

Of course. Why would I not be?

[neverwither]

You look... ( like you're looking out moodily into the emptiness ) ... thoughtful, that's all.

i. (cw: allusions to gore)

[midsommaring]

[His skills with the knife are... impressive to say the least, and Dani can't quite help watching him effortlessly decapitate snowmen for a few minutes.

But she can't help thinking of the old man and the mallet and after a moment she speaks up -- ] Isn't that a little, um. Morbid?

[dothelokimotion]

[ he blinks, perplexed. ]

How so?

[midsommaring]

Just, I don't know. The murdering of snowpeople, I guess.

[dothelokimotion]

But they're not alive.